Childhood Friends
by Pozrah
Summary: What if Ogiwara wasn't Kuroko's only childhood friend? Here's a hint: He's a rainbow.


**A/N: **Hi ._. My first KnB fanfic yey :D thooo I'm very sorry for the following grammatical errors you will see ._.  
>For my other fanfic., The Sweet Secret, ... let's say that chapter 8 is currently in a traffic jam ._. or it got into an accident and is currently in a coma.<p>

Something I would like to say too, is that many will be ooc here sooooo ;; w ;;

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.

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><p><strong>~What If~<strong>

A very young Kuroko Tetsuya was currently in a street basketball court. Well, alone. Not that he had many friends anyways. Much less anyone who even _noticed_ him.

So why was he in a street basketball court? Easy, he found the sports Basketball interested.

How? By watching a match on the television.

Even though he doesn't have friends, why not go to nearby basketball clubs? The answer would be because there were none which meant that he had to practice alone or with friends.

Which is why he's currently alone. Thank goodness the usual high school students using the court weren't present. They looked too territorial. Though, the number of their visits had drastically decreased. Maybe it had something to do when he was seen practicing in their (not really) court? Kuroko shook his head at that. No way, he was just a kid. Definitely not a ghost or a monster that can take them on (the seniors begged to differ). Oh well, at least he got to use it.

After a few hours, Kuroko huffed in annoyance. He was getting nowhere. Kuroko mentally questioned himself if he should continue playing the sport or continue practicing even though it doesn't really improve his skills. The former sounds more tempting to Kuroko but he mentally shook it off. He picked up the ball and continued to practice his dribbling skills.

"Ne, kimi" He heard. He stopped and turned to look who called him. He saw a young boy, with orange hair. His hair was light on the top and went darker on the lower portion. The feature that grabbed his attention the most was the bright (almost blinding) grin that was directed to him.

"I'm Ogiwara Shigehiro! I also play basketball, let's be friends!" The boy, Ogiwara, told him while moving towards him. The teal haired boy could only blink as he internally sweatdropped at the introduction.

Kuroko could only nod as he introduced himself. "Kuroko Tetsuya. But, I'm not that good in basketball. I'm just a newbie."

"That's not a problem! What matters is that you have fun!" Ogiwara grinned further more (can it stretch more?). "And Shige's just fine."

Kuroko nodded again and they played.

The quiet boy had to admit later, he had fun.

(Though Ogiwara soon found out that it would take him a longer time to make the quiet boy call him by his first name.)

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><p>A month passed by and the two boys continued on playing basketball everyday after school in the court. They had fun and sometimes even hanged out somewhere else (though they end up playing basketball in the end).<p>

One day, the carrot head decided to bring someone along.

"Kuroko! Meet my other best friend, Nijimura Shuzo!" The bubbly kid happily introduced the ravenhead who was looking at the former with looks that could kill.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Kuroko Tetsuya," Kuroko said respectfully as he did a small bow. Something about the other kid somewhat demanded respect.

"Nice to meet you, Kuroko-kun. I hope Shige here didn't bother you too much with his annoying personality," Nijimura smirked as Ogiwara cried, "Senpai! I'm not annoying, right Kuroko?"

"Hai. Personally, I don't really mind much though it could get a little annoying sometimes," The teal head replied monotonously and the subject of their talk just sat on a corner with a depressed aura around him.

The two boys glanced at each other before letting out a small smile (Kuroko) and an amused grin (Nijimura).

"I can see that we'll get along pretty well."

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><p>Time passed by as the three children became friends and soon, best friends.<p>

They might be in different schools, but that did not stop the three from playing basketball together after school.

Though one day-

Ogiwara dribbled the ball as he faced Kuroko, who was guarding him. He looked for any openings and when he found one, he immediately passed by Kuroko and shot the ball. The ball went in with a satisfying swish of the net. The carrot head flashed the teal head a victory sign while the latter just pouted (cutely).

"Mou, Shige-kun (Ogiwara internally cheered here) you know that I can't guard," said Kuroko while staring at the ball he picked up.

"And that's why we're making you learn how to guard," Nijimura said pointedly and left no room for argument but Kuroko still spoke up.

"But Shuzo-senpai (Nijimura internally smiled, that proved that the boy was warming up to him), we've been doing this for 2 weeks already. Maybe I just don't have talent for basketball..." the teal head said dejectedly.

"Don't say that!" Both Nijimura and Ogiwara shouted at Kuroko, who was startled.

"But-"

"No buts. Anyone can play basketball. Heck, even a monkey can," Nijimura said sternly. "It's just a matter of dedication and time."

"That's right! And I know what you're thinking but a monkey can't win against you," Ogiwara mock frowned at Kuroko.

"Then... what can I do? I feel like I'm useless to you two and I can't even do a drive properly much less guard properly," By this point, Kuroko looked like he was hoping for a miracle to happen.

Ogiwara and Nijimura worriedly glanced at each other. At this rate, Kuroko might end up quitting basketball no matter what they say to him.

"Hmmm... Ne Tetsu, remember that pass you made to me the other day ago? Mind if you can do it again?" Ogiwara suddenly asked as Kuroko frowned but slowly nodded.

Kuroko passed the ball to Nijimura before the latter passed it back to the former. Kuroko then passed the ball to Ogiwara by curving the ball's path but not reducing its speed. It happened as if they were in slow motion and when it ended, the trio just stood there stupefied.

"What...was that?" Ogiwara breathed out and began to shake in excitement. "That was so freakin' cool, Tetsu!"

"Yeah, it was as if the ball didn't even touch your hand and followed your mind's will," Nijimura stared wide-eyed at him before asking, "How did you do that?"

"...How did I do it.. It just felt natural?" Kuroko answered, confused himself while Nijimura just grinned.

"Then, it looks like you have a new role!"

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><p>Ogiwara and Kuroko were, as usual, playing in the court. Nijimura was still to be dismissed later as he was a year older than them. Though, he would still find time for them.<p>

It seemed like a usual day for them. But it soon proved to be wrong.

"Ne, Shige-kun."

"Nani, Testu?"

Ogiwara looked back with a questioning look on his face as he noticed his best friend's blank face. There was a mixture of sadness in it. The carrot head had a vague idea on where was their conversation leading.

"Is it true that you're going to move away?" Ah. He thought so. The quiet boy looked at him straight in the eyes, as if pleading him to say that no, he's not going to move away.

"Un... Okaa-san and Otou-san thought that it would be better for us to move away from here. Something about work," Ogiwara mumbled but loud enough for the teal haired boy.

A few seconds of silence passed by until it turned into a minute and then minutes. Until...

"Yo! What's with this dark mood?" Nijimura greeted them with a raised eyebrow. He took one look on each of them and had a vague idea of what was going on.

"You know, just because he's moving away and you won't see him, doesn't mean that you can't talk through your cellphones or so," Nijimura sighed at the two younger children. "Did you guys think of that?"

"Yeah we know... but... it's different."

Nijimura just facepalmed and shook his head at his best friends' stubbornness. He waited for a few minutes before a tick mark appeared on his head and threw the ball he was holding at Kuroko, who acted on reflex and passed it to Ogiwara, who was not prepared for the pass at all, and got hit on the face.

"Oww!" Ogiwara was currently nursing his bright red nose to which Nijimura and Kuroko chuckled at.

Looks like things were not that hard to fix.

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><p>Was what he thought. Nijimura stared indecorously at Kuroko, who was standing within the crowd gathered for the Basketball club tryouts. Of course, when he says 'crowd' he means hundreds of people. How he noticed his childhood friend within that crowd and his weak presence, he did not know. Maybe because of spending a lot of time with him? Anyways, to say he was shocked to see Kuroko in Teiko, was an understatement. No wonder the boy just smiled at him whenever he asked him where is he planning to attend middle school.<p>

Yes, Kuroko and Nijimura still met up with each other even though their schools are quite demanding of their time. Nijimura was especially busy because of the basketball club. As if being the captain was easy. He mentally snorted at the idiots who thought that being the captain meant that he could do anything (skipping practice).

"Okay, are all of the people who are going to tryout here? Now, I'll begin explaining on what you guys will be doing. No explanation on how you guys will be evaluated. I don't want to hear any complaints either."

And hell began.

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><p>Sometime during the tryouts, Nijimura managed to slip away from the eyes of Coach Sanda and found Kuroko warming up in a corner. Well, considering Kuroko's personality, the boy would prefer to be alone and somewhere quiet.<p>

Hearing someone was approaching his quiet spot, Kuroko looked up and his eyes shone with recognition with a mix of mischievousness once he took one look at Nijimura's annoyed face.

"Doomo, Shuzo-senpai. How can I help you?" Kuroko asked as a small smile formed on his lips.

"Tetsu," Nijimura nodded as greeting. "Why didn't you tell me that you were going to Teiko?"

"Shige-kun asked me to not tell you."

Nijimura twitched. Shige will get a verbal scolding later. Maybe along with some death threats too. Somewhere, a certain carrot head sneezed and shivered.

The captain took one look at Kuroko and sighed. "Whatever. Anyways, I came to tell you something."

Kuroko saw that the raven head was serious and went back to his usual blank stare. "What is it?"

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><p>Kuroko got into the third string. No big deal. If it weren't for the fact that he had to hide his friendship with his childhood friend, he would've been happy that he even got into the club. But obviously, that's not the case here.<p>

Apparently, the older of the two decided that it would be better if they pretended to not know each other because the others would think that Kuroko only got accepted into the club because of the fact that he's close with the captain. It's quite a retarded speculation but sady, there _are_ simple-minded idiots out there.

But that also meant that they can't go home together (they're neighbors) nor can they talk to each other freely in the school. Maybe he can use his lack of presence to at least walk home together? But then, if someone even sees them together by accident, rumors are going to spread quite fast.

Kuroko sighed. No wonder Nijimura wanted to talk with him if he'll ever go to Teiko.

The woes of being best friends/childhood friends with the (popular) basketball captain.

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><p>Time passed by quite quickly and before they knew it, Kuroko was on his second year while Nijimura was on his last year of attending Teiko. Sometime the previous year, Nijimura passed on his role as the captain to a red head named Akashi Seijuro. Said red head was one of the five first-years who got into the first string and he has shown excellent leadership skills so far.<p>

Another reason why Nijimura passed on his role as a captain would be because of his ill father. It was no secret to Kuroko since before that Nijimura has been busy with school and managing his ill father. He respects his senpai for being caring to his father to the extent that he will give up his role as a captain, something that he worked hard for.

The two still kept in contact with their other childhood friend, Ogiwara. Especially, Kuroko. It wasn't the same as before but it still gave the same happiness that they would receive whenever they talked with each other, so it was fine.

Kuroko, as much as he wouldn't want to admit it, was currently relying on Ogiwara on a certain problem.

"Hmmm... I see, so the ace has been skipping practice..." Ogiwara nonchalantly mumbled.

"What do you think?" Kuroko asked as he sat down on a park bench.

"What do I think...? That's a tough one... Wait, why are you even asking me?" Ogiwara sweatdropped.

"Of course, I asked Shuzo-senpai at first. But he just said that maybe he's on his rebellious stage and went off to practice on his own. I don't really feel that it's like that though..." Kuroko replied.

"Hmmm," Ogiwara made a thinking noise then finally came up with a reply. "Isn't it maybe that he loves basketball more than anyone that he no longer comes to practice."

Kuroko was surprised at this. "Eh? What do you-"

Ogiwara cut him off, "I don't know either. It's just a feeling, a feeling!" Ogiwara paused then continued. "But if there's one thing I can say for sure, it's just that he saved you time and time again, right?"

True. Without Aomine, he would've went off to the Literature club... though he vaguely feels that Nijimura would come up to him and burn his resignation letter in front of his face.

"This time, it's your turn to help him. Isn't that what teammates are for?" Kuroko's once weary eyes regained a spark in them.

"You're right." Ogiwara grinned at Kuroko's reply.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. If our team wins two more matches, we'll make it to the championships," Ogiwara grinned even though the one on the other end couldn't see it.

"Don't you dare lose until we've fulfilled our promise! ...Well, I guess I don't really need to worry since you're in Teiko."

"Yes. Of course. Thank you very much... See you," Kuroko smiled a bit and ended the call.

He stood up and was determined to change things tomorrow now that he found out what he's supposed to be doing.

Then again, things in life were never that easy.

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><p><strong>AN:** And that's a cut! I'm not sure but yeaaaa? It doesn't really seem that different from the canon story D: Please R&R to help this newbie writer here :3


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